Federal Budget & Appropriations

The Federal Budget and Appropriations Process represents the opportunity for NASFAA to advocate on behalf of student financial aid administrators for healthy funding for the federal student aid programs. This page includes a map of the federal budget and appropriations process and links to the most recent updates from NASFAA's Policy & Federal Relations staff at the bottom of the page.

Hover your mouse over each step of the budget process diagrammed below in the graphic for a description and link to more information if available.

Trump 2019 Budget Proposes $3.8 Billion Cut to ED February 12, 2018-The Trump administration on Monday released its fiscal year (FY) 2019 budget request, which proposed steep cuts to federal education funding, including $3.8 billion to the Department of Education (ED), and proposed to eliminate the Public Service Loa...

Share your Budget QuestionsOctober 5, 2017-The federal budget & appropriations process can be difficult to understand. To help clarify the process, NASFAA is developing a document with FAQs and answers related to the federal budget, and we want to hear from you.

House Committees Push Forward on Fiscal Year 2018 BudgetJuly 20, 2017-Two committees within the House of Representatives on Wednesday discussed, debated, and advanced two separate pieces of legislation pertaining to the fiscal year (FY) 2018 budget: the Republicans' budget resolution, a framework that is used by House ...

Spending Package Restores Year-Round Pell, Cuts Pell ReservesMay 2, 2017-In a move aimed at narrowly avoiding a government shutdown, congressional leaders early Monday morning released a tentative agreement on government spending for federal fiscal year (FY) 2017, which funds award year (AY) 2017-18 and includes the resto...

Budget Outlook Murky Following ElectionNovember 16, 2016-Following last week’s election, in which Republicans took the presidency and held control of Congress, the outlook for appropriations action for fiscal year (FY) 2017 remains unclear. The FY2017 appropriation funds federal student aid programs ...

Cut to Pell Funding in House Spending BillJuly 7, 2016-One month after the Senate unveiled an education funding bill, the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee followed suit on Wednesday with their own plan for fiscal year (FY) 2017. The FY 2017 bill, which impacts award year (AY) 2017-18, in...

Cost-Savings in House Budget Plan Come at a PriceMarch 25, 2016-A week after the House Budget Committee released its fiscal year (FY) 2017 Budget Resolution, which called for $6.5 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years, a new committee report further details what would be on the chopping block, including some no...

Student Aid Programs Largely Level-funded in Spending DealJanuary 6, 2016-In a $1.1 trillion spending bill released late Tuesday night, congressional leaders have reached a compromise for government funding for federal fiscal year (FY) 2016. Coupled with the "Omnibus" spending package, a bill to extend several major tax br...

Two-Year Budget Deal Easily Clears House, Moves to SenateOctober 29, 2015-To the surprise of many, the House of Representatives passed a bipartisan budget agreement on Wednesday afternoon by a vote of 266 to 167, with all Democrats supporting the bill and a clear majority of Republicans voting in opposition. The agreement,...

Republicans Release Temporary Budget ProposalSeptember 23, 2015-With only days before the end of the federal fiscal year on September 30, Republicans have released a continuing resolution (CR) to extend funding for the federal government. A CR continues current federal funding levels until a specified date. Witho...

Congress Establishes FY16 Road MapMarch 30, 2015-On Friday the Senate capped a marathon session of amendment votes by voting 52-46 to pass a budget resolution that proposes to cut $124 billion from student aid programs over the next 10 years. This followed action taken earlier in the week...

Senate Budget Seeks Fair-Value ScoringMarch 19, 2015-Following closely on the heels of their counterparts in the House, on Wednesday Senate Republicans released a budget resolution for fiscal year (FY) 2016 that continues a trend of low-spending on discretionary programs. As a reminder, ...